Festive

We are headed to FloydFest this afternoon -- our second time in Floyd and our first time at the festival. I have no idea what to expect, but if I can fly to Lithuania and back with a 10-month-old, I can handle a crowd of hippies with an 11-month-old. 

We loved Floyd when we visited in Fall 2006. I first heard of it on a public radio show about Virginia attractions. They discussed FloydFest and the town itself, which aspires for a marriage between hippies and country folk and, by most accounts, succeeds. 

We pondered setting up our household there before we stumbled on the little house here in Charlottesville. We made the right choice, but perhaps Floyd remains in our future yet.

Just peachy

Peach picking happened on Sunday and has yielded, in chronological order: one fruit crisp, 84 ounces of jam and two frozen pies, 

with six peaches to spare.

I tried some of the jam this morning. It turned out a little stiffer than the strawberry jam, but I like it. With two peach pies in the freezer as well, (I even made the top crust for them from scratch -- thanks Joy of Cooking), I accomplished my major goals with the peaches, so I'm feeling pretty satisfied.

Next jam on deck is actually a jelly: Apple-Basil. I had this a few years ago from the local Farmer's Market and I have never forgotten it. I need to find a recipe, but the basil is growing tall in a container in the back and the apples are slowing ripening in the orchard on Carter's Mountain, so it is just a matter of time.

The Pick-Your-Own option seems like one of the best short of growing your own. Although the Dream Homestead would certainly include a whole orchard of different trees, for now this is what I can do. 

So I wait for the apple season for my next round of Jam Madness. Although just last night my friend Amy mentioned that her concord grapes are ripening, and she might be willing to donate them to the Jam Madness cause. *Insert evil jammy laugh here*

Amish paradise

Back from our three-week trip to Lithuania and back to the usual routine, with some amendments. As is my tendency, I spent a good deal of the trip turning over in my brain the things I'd like to do differently when we return and, starting this week, it is time to enact some of those changes. 

One change is walking more. We ran an errand to buy dog shampoo on Monday night; other than that, I haven't touched the car for three days now. Jonas and I walked to the gym and back today. And it is occurring to me as I write this that I probably could be making dog shampoo from scratch, and therefore not needing to buy it.

Who does that? Who makes dog shampoo? What is my problem? If anything, my living-off-the-land/everything-from-scratch fantasy has worsened rather than improved. Even after spending quite a bit of time in the country at my sister-in-law's house, which is located in the woods in the middle of nowhere, Lithuania. Where the only place to walk is through the woods around the house. And a grocery trip involves at least a half-hour drive. But, as if part of what feels like a growing conspiracy, my sister-in-law's husband is perfectly suited to such a life and, what with his handyman skills and mushroom-hunting skills and general living-off-the-land skills, I'm completely enveloped in this idea at this point.

We harvested three gigantic zucchini from our garden two days ago and I spent yesterday grappling with them. I blanched & froze two of them and grated the third to make zucchini bread - four small loaves and one big one. And I found myself thinking: what if the eggs I was adding to this recipe were from my own chickens? What if the applesauce was my own applesauce, canned last fall?

My new theory is that this near-obsession is how I'm taking on the "job" of being a stay-at-home parent. But, no matter how you analyze it, I can't beat it right now, so I'm joining it. You want to live off the land so much, Jenny? Earn it. Do as much of it as you can from here and if you prove yourself worthy, in a few years -- if you are still under the spell of the countryside -- you can consider taking on the real thing. 

So, I made zucchini bread. This weekend we'll go peach picking and I plan to make some peach pies and jams. Maybe even a chutney. Because chutney? Hard core.